Automobile top



Oct. 16 1923.l

G. H. JOHNSTON AUTOMOBILE TOP Filed March 16'. 1922 G @orge H. Jo/msfon,

' Patented @et 16, 1923.

GEORGE H. JOHNSTON, OF vBUFFALO,NlliTW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO LOVER TOP AND CON- VERTER COMPANY, INC., OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, .A CORPORATION F NEW YORK.

AUTOMOBILE TOP.

Applicationled March 16, 1922. Serial No. 544,262.

To all-whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. JOHNSTON,

i a citizen of the United States, residing atv -Bufalm in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile Tops, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relatesl toV an improvement in automobile tops and more'particularly 1n fixed or permanent topsv4 as contrasted to the collapsible or folding vtops generally used on automobiles of the open body type.

It has been found that the practice of the great majority of automobile owners is to keep the top upat' all 'seasons of the year ,so that the provision of the top with'col- 1a 'sibility .or foldability is unnecessary.`

is no heavier than the well known collapsi ble or folding top, andv in which the braces, hinges and straps necessary in the latter type are eliminated; to provide means for rigidl and 'quickly securing Vthe cross bows, whic form a streamline coinciding with the gen` i eral outline of the body, and in which the cover material need not be heavily impregnated with rubber and is hence much cheaper, of the top to the side frame; to provide y.means for mounting` the top upon the vrbody of an automobile originally equipped with afolding top by using certain of the supporting elements intended for the formertype; and to incorporate in the side` frames of said top means for supporting winter curtains or side enclosures if desired. p

Other Objects will appear from an examination of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying draw- 50 ing .which Iiorms a part thereof and in whichm.

Figure 1 is aside' elevation of one embodiment of vthis invention Figure 2 `is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line 2-2 ofi Figure 1; and

Figures 3 and 4 and 5 are enlarged detailed sections taken along the'lines 3 3, ll-4 and 5-5 respectively of Figure l.

The drawing shows a Ford` automobile equipped with a top constructed in accordance with this invention but it is, ol course, obvious that any type of automobile can be similarly equippedit' desired, the type shown A beingselected merely as an illustration and not with the purpose of imposing any limita` ti'on upon the use of this invention.

Referrin to the drawing the numeral 10 y is used to esignate the body of an automo` bile having a windshield 11, frontand rear seats, 12 and 13 and a top 14 en'ibodying this invention.

The top 14 is composed of side rails 15 and 16 connected at the front by a horizontal board 17, which is secured to the upper edge of the windshield 11, at the rear by the main how 18, and intermediately by the cross bows 19. The main bow 18 is fixed to the body 10 by pins 20, one at'each side of the rear seat 13, and by braces 2l, each secured at one end to the side of the seat 13 and at the Aother end to the bow 18.`

The side rails l5, 16 are permanently fixed to the bow 18 by means of straps 22 secured to the outer faces of 4the rails 15, 16 and to the outer face of the bow 18 as Awill be described later. 4.The side rails and the lower partothe main bow are made of chan` .nelled beams, the open or channelled sides being faced outwardly. These straps 22 may be joined to the rails and bow by spot weld ing if desired, one end of each strap lying in the channel of the side rail and the strap being bent intermediate its ends so that the outer face of the rail'is in alignment with the (uter facel of the bow, as shown in Figs. 4 an 5.

The cross-bows 19 are made of wood bars I l 23 to each end of which are lixed metal strips 24, which project beyond the'ends of the bars 23. These strips 24 are attached to the channelled faces of the side rails by inserting them through slots 25 inthe upper flanges of the rails and spot welding, bolting or otherwise alixing them in place as indifrom each of which projects through. the

cated in Fig. 2. Secured in the channels of the -side rails 15, `16 are plates 26, 27 and 28V rails one or more bolts 29. UprightsBO on the body assist in supporting the top and also define front ali/l rear openings-31, 32 which may be closed if desired by closing plates (not shown) carried bythe bolts 29 of the plates 26, the outer bolts 29 of the plates 27 and the front bolts 29 of the plates 28. The uprights 30 areA fixed to the top by the remaining vboltsV 29, which extend' through holes 33-in the upper end of each upright, the forward uprights `being engaged by the center bolts 29 of the plates 27 and the rear uprights by the rear bolts 29 of the plates28.

At the ends of the main bow 18 are provided feet 34 which are joined to the bottom of the rear uprights 3() by bolts carried by theA uprights and passing through slots 35 in the feet 34, which connection supplements the function of the bolts 20.

Sine-"e the main bow 18 unlike the bows 19, extends below the side rails and forms one of the main supports for the top it must be of greater strength and rigidity; Hence the strips 24 which extend beyond the ends of the wood bar 23 are secured in the chanf nelled faces of channelled beams 37 which are of a construction similar to the side rails y 15, 16 with the exception that the width of the beams varies upwardly fromy the feet 34. The straps 22 are secured to the outer faces of the strips 24 and rest upon the upper edges of the beams 37. l

In the channels of the side rails 15, 16y is a wood filler 36 which-covers'thexends of the side bows 19 and the straps 22 while a similar filler 38 is placed in the channels of the beams 37. The outer faces of the fillersy 36 and 38 coincide with the outer faces of the wood bars 23 which form part of the bows 18 and 19. Thus there is provided a tacking' vmade without departing from the spirit and n scope of my invention as set forth in the following claims:

Having thus described my invention that which I claim as new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent of the United States isthe following: 4

rails and metal strips project-ing beyond the ends of said bars through slots in the upper flanges into the channels in said side4 rails, uprights fastened to the inner faces of said side rails, and wood fillers in the channels of said side rails and main bow.

2. .In an automobile top a rigid frame including outwardly faced channelled side vals in the upper flanges thereon, cross bows connecting said rails, each of said bows composed of a wood bar and metal strips thereon, and projecting beyond vthe ends thereof to extend through said slots in the upper flanges of said rails into the channels there-- lof when the parts'are assembled and wood fillers in the channels of said side rails over the ends of said metal strips.

rails, having slots, at predetermined interf 3. In an automobile top, a rigid frame including a'partly channelled main bow, outwardly faced. channelled side rails carried by said main bow, a strap in the channel of each side rail projecting beyond the rear end thereof, and bent to bear against the outer face of said main bow, said channelled' side rails having slots in the upper flanges, cross bows connecting said side rails with the ends of -said-4 bows extending through said slots into the channels of said side rails and wood fillers in the channels of said side rails over the ends of said cro'ss bows and of said straps.

4. The combination with the body of an automobile of a top therefor including a main lbow mounted on said body, channelled side rails mounted-at the rear end to said bow,`uprights mounted on saidbody, platesl which the upper ends of said uprights are secured and fillers in the .channels of said side rails over said plates. N

,-In testimony whereof I-a'fix my signature.

GEORGE H. ioHNsToN. 

